Derick Burns

djb38 | at | psu | edu
814-863-0041

I am the Manager of Publications and Public Relations for Teaching and Learning with Technology. In this role I am in charge of the promotion and marketing of TLT’s products, services, and functions to faculty, staff, and students at Penn State. In order to accomplish this, I work with three other staff members to make up the TLT Communications Group. This group handles all the writing, editing, layout, and design of materials such as documentation, articles, announcements, flyers, and brochures for the unit. In addition to the TLT Communications Group, I am also a member of the ITS Communicators Group, which includes marketing professionals from all the units of ITS, and the CIC Communicators, which is made up of IT communicators from the Big 10 schools.

I attended Rochester Institute of Technology and graduated in 1994 with a BFA in Illustration and Design. After graduating from RIT I worked at a newspaper in Carlisle, PA and then at a small in-house print and design shop in Mechanicsburg, PA. These two opportunities allowed me to use my degree as well as learn the ins and outs of pre-press and printing. My first exposure to a large organization came when I was employed at Grove Worldwide in Shady Grove, PA just outside of Chambersburg. Grove is a worldwide leader in the manufacturing of hydraulic cranes and platforms, and I was hired in the marketing department as a graphic artist working on advertising campaigns, literature, and promotional materials. Grove changed ownership in the fall of 1998, and I became employed at AccuWeather in the spring of 1999. My role at AccuWeather was as the Senior Marketing Graphic Artist, and I was equally happy to continue to work in a marketing environment as I was to be back in State College. I also gained significant experience with conference and convention planning during my time there. After 4 and a half years at AccuWeather, I was hired as the Publicity Coordinator for TLT in November of 2003.

A Pennsylvania native, I have spent the majority of my life in the central part of the state with frequent trips up and down the east coast and through much of Nevada and California. In my spare time I have taken up running and am an avid reader, particularly of true crime novels. I am a lifelong Penn State football fan and season ticket holder, and on Saturdays in the fall I’ll either be at Beaver Stadium or in front of a TV for away games watching the Nittany Lions play. I plan to go back to school in the near future to achieve an MBA degree. In addition to the honor of achieving this goal, I will also finally achieve the status of Penn State alumnus.

To stay in touch in the online world, I maintain a personal blog, where I chat about my interests, observations, and anything else that comes to mind, as well as a Flickr account and Facebook page that I update regularly.